Govt launches Aadhaar Good Governance portal, allows private firms to use Aadhaar for authentication

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has launched the Aadhaar Good Governance portal (swik.meity.gov.in) to streamline the approval process for Aadhaar authentication requests. The move follows the amendment to the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Rules, notified on January 31, which allows private entities to seek Aadhaar authentication for specific services. The portal lists 275 approved use cases since August 2020 at both central and state levels.

The amendment expands the scope of Aadhaar authentication, enabling services across hospitality, healthcare, credit rating bureaus, e-commerce platforms, educational institutions, and aggregator service providers. Service providers can use Aadhaar authentication for staff attendance, customer onboarding, e-KYC verification, exam registrations, and more. The amendment also removes the phrase “in the interest of good governance, preventing leakage of public funds,” replacing it with “promoting ease of living of residents and enabling better access to services.”

Private entities must submit a proposal to the concerned ministry, department, or appropriate government, justifying their request for Aadhaar authentication. If approved, the ministry will forward the proposal to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for assessment. Based on UIDAI’s recommendation, MeitY will authorize the respective ministry or department to notify the private entity for Aadhaar authentication use.

The amendment also allows the integration of Aadhaar-enabled face authentication in private mobile applications, facilitating remote authentication. “The portal shall work as a resource-rich guide and offer detailed SOP for authentication-seeking entities on how to apply and onboard for Aadhaar authentication,” MeitY said in a statement. Face authentication can be integrated into customer-facing apps, enabling seamless identity verification.

The Aadhaar Good Governance portal was launched by MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan, UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar, NIC Director General Inder Pal Singh Sethi, UIDAI DDG Manish Bhardwaj, and other senior officials. “With the launch of this platform and continuous improvement of other processes, we hope to expedite the process of adding more use cases in the domain of good governance and ease of living,” Krishnan stated. The amendment aligns with the government’s efforts to improve transparency, ease of living, and better access to digital services.